Lei jerked awake with a gasp. Her green eyes grew wide as she took in her surroundings, knowing for a fact she had no clue where she was. She quickly realized she was restrained; her wrists tied with silk scarves to the headboard of the four-poster bed. Lei shut her eyes for a moment, trying to get her bearings. Each beat of her heart caused her head to throb, and she was relatively sure that her heart was beating a lot slower than it should have been. Especially in her panic.
The creak of a door made her eyes come open again, and framed in the light from the hallway stood a man. A very tall, very large man. Lei wracked her brain trying to figure out why she would be tied to a bed with a stranger, but not much from the evening came back to her. Had she been drugged? One of those date rape drugs? Had he raped her? Her clothes were still in place, albeit a little dirty. She looked like she'd been drug through the streets. Maybe that was why her head pounded so dreadfully.
"How do you feel?" His voice was deep, slightly gravely.
"Like I've been dragged through the streets. Where am I? Why am I here? Who are you?"
The man approached the bed and smiled, holding his hands up in front of him to halt her words.
"You've been through a lot this evening. Relax, please."
"Relax? Are you serious?" Lei struggled against the ties that bound her.
"Please, let me explain."
"Get started."
The man frowned, as if she confused him. He pulled a wingback chair up to the side of the bed, and picked a tray up off of the nightstand. She hadn't even noticed him carry it in.
"First of all, I'm Draven. I saw in your wallet that your name is Lorelei. There was a...misunderstanding this evening." His eyes flashed as he spoke.
"Oh, yes, a misunderstanding. That explains it all."
"You were meant to be a host. Now you're going to turn. It's just a matter of time. I do apologize."
"Turn? Turn into what? What is a host?" Lei's arms jerked upwards, straining against the material that bound her.
"A vampire, my lovely. And a host is someone we bring to the house to feed upon. However, the one that snagged you last night is new, and he got carried away. He's been berated, and is under surveillance as we speak."
Lei's lashes fluttered as she blinked rapidly, trying to puzzle everything together. A vampire? There was no such thing. Was this some elaborate prank? Even more, the severity of her situation was sinking in, and she had the urge to scream. The man seemed to sense her new attitude.
"There's no sense screaming. We're too far out in the country for anyone to hear you. How do you feel?" Draven offered her a roll.
"My head is pounding and I think my blood pressure is low. My eyes burn." Lei struggled to sit up as she spoke.
"That's all normal. The worst part will be when the hunger kicks in. For now, you need real food in your system. Eat some of this."
Lei took the roll from his hand and nibbled on it, chewing thoughtfully. Vampires were a thing of myth, a thing in history. There was no way this guy was for real. And he certainly didn't really look like a vampire. He didn't look...dead enough.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Lei finally broke the silence.
"Because you aren't acting how you should. By this time you should be writhing in pain, miserable because of that hunger eating your gut. You're turning slower than anyone else ever has. And, you still have your own mind. Usually at this stage, the victim falls in love with the one who changed them. Are you in love?" Draven's brow furrowed.
"No sir, I am not. Thank you very much. I don't like that writhing in pain part. You could have left that out." Lei shuddered. "What else do you have over there?"
"An apple. Some cheese."
"Give it all to me. I need my strength." Lei again grew quiet.
"To escape?"
Lei considered lying. She considered playing coy. Then she decided to be her usual honest and open self.
"Yes."
"You can't. There are too many here that would catch you. And believe me; you don't want to be alone when the hunger strikes. You will not like what you become," He leaned forward intently. "You won't be able to stop yourself. And you will kill someone. Kill them. And when your hunger is sated, are you going to be able to live with yourself? After you've been a vampire a while, the fact you're killing someone doesn't really faze you, but for some of us, it never stops feeling wrong."
Lei swallowed hard. "Are you one of those? Does it always feel wrong to you?"
"Yes." Draven's voice was little more than a whisper.
"Is that why a host is necessary? So you aren't really killing them?"
"Not for a while anyway. It's always kinder to kill them eventually, but I'm never the one that does it. There are a handful of others who won't do it either."
"So why am I not turning yet? Why is it being so slow?" Lei sat back against the headboard.
"I have no idea. This has never happened before."
"Are you the boss? Or whatever you want to call it?"
He surprised her with a quick laugh. "Yes, I guess you could call it that. Though we all live peacefully, sometimes it's necessary to have someone in charge. And that's when I step in, like with your situation and the one who bit you."
"Will I ever see my family again?"
"That's enough questions for tonight. Please, get some rest. No one is going to harm you. I'll be right outside the door if you need anything." Draven stood and made it to the door in record time.
As Lei watched the door close, she slumped. His leaving meant that no, she would never see her family again. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes, and she dashed them away. From what Draven had said, it would be stupid for her to run now. She would wait until she turned and had a hold of herself and this...this hunger, and then she would go where she wanted. Then, she would see her family.
For now, she would rest, but in the morning, she wanted to call her parents.
The next two days passed in agony for Lei. Draven never came back into her room, and the young girl that brought her food and escorted her to the bathroom was no help at all. She answered no questions, and didn't really speak. No one else came in. She was bored, worried out of her mind, and she wanted some more answers. Finally, around eight o'clock that night there was noise from outside of her room.
